This Easy Peasy Chicken Curry is quick to prepare, uses only a handful of ingredients and tastes fabulous. It’s much healthier than a takeaway and – dare I say it – even tastier than many takeaway chicken curries I have had. (And only 15 minutes hands-on time!)
Inspired by the Sirtfood Diet…
This Easy Peasy Chicken Curry was originally inspired by one of my absolute favourite meals from my trial of the Sirtfood Diet. I’ve since tweaked the original recipe to make it quicker, easier and (IMHO) even more delicious.
It’s perfect for a simple midweek dinner when you are in a hurry, but don’t want to compromise on flavour. At just 300 calories, it’s a great option if you are watching your weight. And it’s packed with goodness from the chicken thighs, coconut milk, onion, garlic, chilli, ginger and turmeric. (But it definitely does not taste like diet food and you absolutely don’t need to be on a diet to enjoy it!)
Super simple to make!
This Easy Peasy Chicken Curry really does live up to it’s name – so quick and simple to prepare! All you need to do is make a simple homemade curry paste from onion, garlic and spices. Next, fry the chicken in the curry paste, before adding coconut milk and a couple more spices. Finally, simmer for 30 minutes and it’s done. Easy Peasy!
Chicken thigh or chicken breast?
I have chosen to use chicken thighs in this recipe, for three reasons:
The first is that I much prefer the flavour. I find chicken breasts can often be quite bland, chicken thighs are much tastier in my opinion, and they stand up really well to the spices in the sauce, rather than being overwhelmed by them.
The second reason is that you can cook chicken thighs for much longer than breasts. Breasts get overcooked easily, but thighs can actually benefit from being cooked for a little longer.
The third is that thighs are generally quite a bit cheaper than breast.
But if you want to make this curry with chicken breast meat, it will still work fine, just make sure you don’t overcook it! You will need to reduce the cooking time in the coconut milk down to about 10 minutes and so the sauce will be less concentrated.
Want to add even more goodness?
If you wanted to add even more goodness to this curry you could add a couple of handfuls of kale or spinach. Add the kale in 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time, or add the spinach in right at the end.
What to serve with chicken curry?
You can serve this curry with basmati rice or my Easy Peasy Pilau Rice, if you want to, and it will taste great. But if you want to go for a healthier option, why not switch to brown rice (which I actually think tastes nicer than white rice) or even buckwheat, as I have done here?
Buckwheat is super nutritious AND low in calories. What’s not to like? For more information on buckwheat, including how to cook it, check out this article: What is buckwheat and how do you cook it?
Another good option, if you are looking to keep the calorie count low, is to serve this curry with Plain Cauliflower Rice… Or why not try my Pilau Cauliflower Rice?
What to drink with chicken curry?
I recommend a Chilean or New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc with this Easy Chicken Curry. A French or Australian Riesling would also work well. Or, of course, you could have a beer instead, if you prefer… my husband certainly would!
Make ahead chicken curry
This Easy Peasy Chicken Curry is a great make ahead option. In fact, I think it actually tastes BETTER the next day. Simply put the cooked and cooled curry in a lidded container and place in the fridge, where it will keep for up to 3 days.
To reheat, simply place in a saucepan with a splash of cold water and bring to the boil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes until the curry is piping hot all the way through. Alternatively, you can reheat this curry in the microwave, if you prefer.
Can you freeze chicken curry?
Absolutely! This curry freezes beautifully. Simply put the cooked and cooled curry in a lidded container and place in the freezer, where it will keep for up to 1 month.
Defrost overnight and reheat as above.
If you like this recipe…
…you might also like:
Easy Peasy Chicken Curry
Ingredients
- 1 red onion roughly chopped
- 3 garlic cloves roughly chopped
- 2 cm fresh ginger peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 2 teaspoons ground turmeric
- 1 cinnamon stick (optional)
- 6 cardamom pods (optional)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (or 4 chicken breasts) cut into bitesize chunks
- 400 ml tin coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander chopped (plus extra for garnish)
- Buckwheat, brown rice or basmati rice to serve
Instructions
- Place the onion, garlic and ginger in a food processor and blitz until it is a paste. Alternatively you can do this with a hand blender, or if you don’t have one, just chop these 3 ingredients very finely and continue as below.
- Add the garam masala, cumin and turmeric to the paste and stir together. Set aside.
- Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a wide deep pan (ideally non-stick). Heat up the pan on a high heat for one minute and then add the chopped up chicken thighs. Stir-fry the chicken on a high heat for 2 minutes, then turn the heat down and add the curry paste. Allow the chicken to cook in the paste for 3 minutes and then add half the coconut milk (200ml), plus the cinnamon and cardamom (if using). Bring to the boil and then turn down and allow to simmer for 30 minutes until the curry sauce is thick and delicious!
- If the curry starts to get dry, add a splash more coconut milk. You may not need it all, but if you like a slightly more saucy curry, by all means add the lot!
- While the curry is cooking, make your accompaniment (buckwheat/rice) and any side dishes.
- When the curry is ready, add the chopped coriander and serve immediately with buckwheat or rice and a nice glass of chilled white wine… I mean water!! 😉
Notes
- If you wanted to add even more goodness to this curry you could add a couple of handfuls of kale or spinach. Add the kale in 5 minutes before the end of the cooking time, or add the spinach in right at the end.
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Beth says
This looks like my kind of curry.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Beth 🙂
Corina says
I love curries with cardamom and cinnamon in them and in fact one of my favourite curries has very similar combination of spices but with yoghurt instead of coconut milk. So I know we’d love this one! I definitely prefer homemade curries although we are quite often tempted by takeaways too! Thank you for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Corina. I do love yoghurt in curries too…but I’m a bit coconut milk obsessed at the moment. I just love the flavour and that touch of sweetness seems to work so well in a curry. If it’s a really good takeaway/restaurant curry then I’m a very happy bunny, but so often they are fairly mediocre. At least I know I am guaranteed a good meal if I make it myself…and so much cheaper/healthier too! Eb x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I love the sound of this Eb, and I imagine it would make a lovely vegetarian meal with quorn ‘chicken’ pieces instead of the real thing. Although I love coconut milk/cream Mr E really doesn’t – there are few things he wont eat but coconut things are sadly one of them – so I was interested to spot Corina’s comment about yoghurt (something he does love). I just need to find somewhere local which stocks buckwheat (I fancy trying it rather than the rice).
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
I’m sure this would work very well with Quorn chicken pieces…though no need to cook as long, obviously (though actually you could, length of cooking never seems to affect Quorn!) Or some kind of bean/lentil/chickpea/veg combination…I could see this being great with cauliflower, spinach and chickpeas, for example, or red lentils and root veg (agh now you’ve got me going…I want to try both versions out!). Yes yogurt would be a great alternative to coconut milk or my other great curry favourite is a tin of tomatoes…or you could do both! All good!! Good luck with the buckwheat 🙂 Eb x
Hayley @ Snap Happy Bakes says
Chicken curry is my favourite 🙂 The pictures make it look so inviting. Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare
Eb Gargano says
Thank you Hayley, Chicken curry is one of my favourites too…especially when it tastes this good and is this easy to make!! 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Chicken curry always goes down a treat in our house! Yours looks and sounds delicious Eb! Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Kirsty! It’s a great crowd pleaser, isn’t it? Xx
Janice Pattie says
I love a simple recipe and a nice mild curry is great for all the family.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Janice 🙂
Cat | Curly's Cooking says
Love a chicken curry and I agree, thighs are my go-to most of the time! Thanks for linking to #CookBlogShare.
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Cat! Eb x